A great little article in Boing Boing brought me to this website that documents of our experiences and projects of a young couple living off the grid:

VelaCreations.com

Technorati Tags: off-grid

SEATTLE - Washington residents looking to safely get rid of old computers and TVs can do so for free when a new statewide recyclingprogram begins next year.

A state law that starts Jan. 1 allows consumers to bring unwanted computer monitors, laptops and TVs to 200 permanent collection sites at no charge.

Click Here to read the article

Technorati Tags: recycling

I found this really great article on the PakBec blog about the whole notion of biodegradable plastics.

What we need to do is recognize plastics as a valuable material resource, and then collect and recover plastics much like they do in Europe.

Landfills are designed to entomb things, not to encourage biodegradation

Click Here to read the article

Technorati Tags: biodegradable

My friend Rachel Matesz has written a great blog post about Lava Lake Lamb:

Lava Lake Ranch raises certified organic lamb the way nature intended. The lambs drink their mother’s milk and graze on pesticide- and herbicide-free grasses, herbs, forbes and legumes, such as alfalfa, for their entire lives. They’re not confined and they’re never given grain, growth hormones, or antibiotics.

Click Here to read her article

Technorati Tags: Lava Lake Lamb

Drake Landing Solar Community.

The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is a master planned neighbourhood in the Town of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada that has successfully integrated Canadian energy efficient technologies with a renewable, unlimited energy source - the sun. The result is the first community to obtain all its water and space-heating needs from solar energy.

SOlar panels on the roof of every garage heat a glycol solution. The heated glycol travels along the roof overhang, down the end of the garage, and underground through a shallow buried trench system until it arrives at a heat exchanger within the community’s Energy Centre. The heat exchanger transfers heat to the water stored in a short-term storage tank.

During the warmer months, the heated water is distributed from the short-term storage tank to the borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system via a series of pipes. The pipes run through a collection of 144 holes that stretch thirty-seven meters below the ground and cover an area thirty-five metres in diameter.

As the heated water travels through the pipe-work, heat is transferred to the surrounding earth. The temperature of the earth will reach 80 degrees Celsius by the end of each summer.

To keep the heat in, the BTES is covered with sand, high-density R-40 insulation, a waterproof membrane, clay, and other landscaping materials.

Click Here to learn more.

Technorati Tags: Drake Landing, Solar Heating

From Rainwater Harvesting For Drylands comes this:

Arizona has some great financial incentives for water harvesting, which other states could replicate. But more folks need to take advantage of them.

The State of Arizona will give Arizona taxpayers a one-time tax credit for a “water conservation system” (defined as a system to harvest residential rainwater and/or greywater). The credit is for 25% of the cost of the system (up to a maximum of $1,000).
Builders are eligible for an income tax credit of up to $200 per residence unit constructed with a water conservation system installed.

Click Here to read the article

Technorati Tags: rainwater harvesting

From Lighter Footstep comes this:

For years, we were advised to flush unused or expired prescription drugs. Unfortunately, most municipal water systems are unequipped to remove medications from treated water. Now scientists are increasingly concerned about the low levels of drugs turning up in watershed and marine life. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of great disposal options. Read before you flush. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy has published revised guidelines on safer prescription disposal. When in doubt, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Technorati Tags: Add new tag

Wildlife. No not the ‘party’ kind of wildlife.

The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources has developed the West Virginia Wild Yards Program to recognize the efforts of backyard wildlife landscapers. Approved properties will be entered into the WV Wild Yards Registry maintained by the WDP. The property owner will receive a certificate and a sign that can be placed within the backyard habitat to let everyone know that the area is part of a statewide network of WV Wild Yards.

Read More Here

Technorati Tags: backyard wildlife

As I’m making my Christmas list this year, my thoughts turn to my book-reading habits. I generally purchase and read a few dozen books every year. It occurred to me that if I purchased an Amazon KIndle that I could save a few trees.

But what about the environmental impact of making - an eventually disposing of - all those electronic components? Am I helping the environment or hurting it by buying a Kindle? I’ve been reading a lot of blogs on this topic and almost without exception they talk about saving trees and preventing landfill waste.

The paper used to make books comes from tree farms, not endangered species trees or wild trees, and a book in a landfill should decompose pretty quickly.

Kindle, on the other hand, is made of plastic, a petroleum by-product. Given the internal components, we are definitely talking hazardous waste here.

I dunno. Kindle or paper?

Technorati Tags: KIndle or paper?

Admit it: your dog has a Christmas stocking. And just because she’s a dog doesn’t mean that her gifts should not also be green.

Olive Green Dog is dedicated to bringing you the largest variety of healthful and environmentally friendly dog products on the Internet.

Technorati Tags: green dog toys, Olive Green Dog